Ruyi withdrew his gaze from Feng Rugu and flipped to the next page of the Buddhist scripture he had been holding but barely reading.

Feng Rugu hugged the covers in a daze for a while before hoarsely asking Ruyi: "Did you hear that?"

Ruyi: "Hear what?"

Feng Rugu turned on his side, lying on the bed and staring straight at him: "The bamboo is talking."

"......"

Ruyi felt that Feng Rugu's gaze was like a little fishhook, drilling straight into his heart. On one hand, he frowned at this lack of solemnity, but on the other hand, he wanted to know what Feng Rugu was trying to say. So he followed along and asked: "What did it say?"

"It said the food at lunch today was not tasty at all," Feng Rugu nonsensically babbled. "...It also said the food here is not to its liking."

Ruyi put down the scripture: "Did it say what it wants to eat now then?"

"Hmm..." Feng Rugu closed his eyes for a moment and said, "It wants to eat stir-fried bamboo shoots, stir-fried lotus root slices, and tofu."

Faced with Feng Rugu's childish way of indirectly ordering dishes, Ruyi gave an "mm" sound: "That's quite a lot. Then tell it to go cook for Lord Yunzhong."

Feng Rugu looked at him with puppy eyes: "...Master."

Ruyi was unmoved.

Feng Rugu acted coquettishly: "Little Hongchen."

Ruyi pretended not to hear.

Feng Rugu put on a pitiful face: "I'm hungry. Are you going to take care of me or not?"

Ruyi pursed his lips, looking like he was impatient to hear any more of Feng Rugu's nagging. He simply closed the door behind him and went out.

However, Feng Rugu on the bed let out a small sigh of relief. He slipped off the bed, went behind the screen, quickly undressed, and took a simple bath using the natural cold spring water piped into the room through bamboo tubes.

He lay beside the wooden bathtub, gently stroking the tattoo on his lower back that used to be a red lotus but was now a green lotus.

When he had been unconscious, Ruyi had seen the red lotus on his lower back.

At that time, he had lied through his teeth, saying it had the effect of protecting the body and nourishing vitality, temporarily fooling Ruyi. But with Ruyi's intelligence, Feng Rugu was not fully confident he could deceive him. He could only try to avoid undressing in front of Ruyi as much as possible, lest Ruyi see the changes in the tattoo and grow suspicious.

The reason Feng Rugu had acted spoiled and made a fuss about being hungry was, firstly, to find a way to coax Ruyi out of the room, and secondly, he was truly famished. So much so that after finishing his bath and drying off, he felt dizzy for quite a while and had to squat down beside the tub to catch his breath.

Because Hua Ruohong had been ruining his appetite during lunch, he hadn't eaten much since noon. After an afternoon of toil, he was already so hungry that he had no strength left.

However, Ruyi couldn't be blamed for thinking he was just being unreasonable.

For a cultivator who had reached Ruyi's level, they had long succeeded in abstaining from food. Eating was not at all a necessity, just an occasional indulgence. They definitely would not be clawing at the walls from hunger like Feng Rugu.

As Feng Rugu squatted on the ground, his vision going black, he still didn't forget to think that Fuchun's cooking skills weren't bad, and he should go find him in a bit.

He could act spoiled and be ignored by Little Hongchen, but Fuchun definitely wouldn't be able to resist.

Having made up his mind, Feng Rugu hastily put on his clothes and walked out of the bathroom with wet hair, only for his heart to skip a beat.

Ruyi had returned at some unknown time and was reading a book in the exact same posture as before. The wrist exposed under his old cotton monk's robe had a very nice curve.

Unlike earlier, there was now a plate of stir-fried bamboo shoots, a plate of stir-fried lotus root slices, and a bowl of rice on the table.

Noticing that Feng Rugu had come out, Ruyi raised his head and explained the origin of these dishes with an indifferent expression: "We didn't have tofu on hand, but there are fresh lotus roots in the back courtyard pond and fresh bamboo shoots under the window."

...He just wouldn't mention how exactly they had been turned into dishes and brought to the table.

Feng Rugu was overjoyed. He sat down next to Ruyi and said intimately: "Many thanks to Master Ruyi. You've truly saved Feng Er's life."

"I dare not accept the praise," Ruyi casually disassociated himself from the dishes. "This poor monk only hopes that Lord Yunzhong will be quiet and not disturb others' cultivation."

Feng Rugu didn't stand on ceremony. He picked up the chopsticks and dug in with gusto.

Under the warm yellow light, Feng Rugu, still with wet hair, ate the bamboo shoots with relish. Ruyi turned his face and watched him eat so happily for a good while before realizing his mind was too unfocused.

...He had never been like this before.

Ruyi was puzzled for a moment. He simply took out paper and brush and copied the "Infinite Life Sutra" at hand to calm his mind: "The people of the world, fathers and sons, brothers, husbands and wives, relatives, should respect and love each other, not hate or envy each other..."

The more he copied, the more unsettled his heart became.

In Jianchuan, fathers were not fathers, sons were not sons; brothers were not brothers; husbands and wives were suspicious of each other; relatives schemed against each other. Compared to the sacred words of the "Infinite Life Sutra", not a single thing matched.

Ruyi stilled his heart and continued copying.

"People are in the midst of love and desire, born alone and dying alone, coming and going alone, bearing their own happiness and suffering, with no one to take their place..."

When he copied this part, Ruyi looked up and stared straight at Feng Rugu for some unknown reason. The tip of his heart tightened strangely, an indescribable feeling.

Before he could distinguish what this emotion was, he suddenly heard chaotic footsteps and clamoring voices outside, coming towards the guest room.

Feng Rugu wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and had just asked "What's going on?" when there was a knock on the door from the outside.

It was Sang Luojiu's voice.

He said: "Reporting to Master, it seems something has happened at Qingshuang Sect."

At this time, Luo Fuchun, who had gotten accurate information, also arrived at the door.

Compared to Sang Luojiu, he was much more anxious. He directly pushed the door open and entered: "Master! The disciple from Qingshuang Sect who was released to go outside the valley because his father was critically ill has been found dead on the other side of the bridge!"

Feng Rugu asked: "How did he die?"

"It was a Tang knife!" Luo Fuchun said urgently. "His throat was slit with a Tang knife! That person has appeared again!"